GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Filling you in on a familiar problem, potholes during the spring in Northeast Wisconsin.

“This (the weather we’ve had recently) is probably the worst conditions we can imagine for development of potholes,” said Green Bay public works director Steve Grenier. “Pothole development usually occurs during periods of freeze and thaw cycles, so the worst time of the year for a pothole is when the temperature keeps going above and below 32 degrees.”

Rain, sleet, and snow exacerbate the pothole formation process because the moisture seeps into the roadway and freezes when it dips below freezing at night causing the pavement to expand and the road to crack.

Grenier said that this time of year is the peak season for potholes.

Green Bay Public Works Department officials say they address the largest potholes first because these are the ones that are more than just a nuisance and can damage vehicles. They also prioritize snowplowing over pothole filling during the spring because getting the snow off the road is the more pressing safety matter.

Usually drier weather equates to better pothole filling conditions; however, the public works department does have tools to fill when it’s rainy outside.

“That (the pothole filling material) needs to bond with whatever we’re throwing that on top of, we need to create that bond otherwise you’re putting an oily substance on asphalt or concrete and as soon as there’s traffic it squeezes out of the hole and all you’ve done is waste money,” said Grenier.

If you see a pothole in the city of Green Bay, you can report it here. Grenier said they also try to prioritize the potholes that people call them to report.

“Understand that potholes are a fact of life here in Wisconsin in the spring,” said Grenier. “We don’t want them any more than anybody else. We’re not ignoring it it’s more likely that we haven’t been advised of its location yet.”